Hughes Wrong
On VSAC $$

It is a shame that Greg Hughes’ arguments to the legislators made an impression, as you state in your article on VSAC money and out-of-state schools (10/12), because Hughes is wrong.

While there may be cases of schools reducing financial aid as a result of the VSAC loan, my experience has been just the opposite. I currently have a son attending Worcester Poly Tech, and while they awarded him a hefty sum, he will still graduate with debt larger than the value of my home. He was awarded a VSAC scholarship of $1000 which was NOT deducted from school financial aid but which he is able to use to directly reduce the amount he needs to borrow. Over four years and increasing interest rates, that is a welcome savings.

I do not believe that the educational experience my son is getting at Worcester Poly Tech could have been matched at one of our in-state schools. Contrary to Hughes' statement that more cost efficient colleges would keep our "kids" here, my son chose to go out of state because he valued his educational experience over the cost.

College is a critical time in our children’s development and we should be supporting them to go wherever they can find what works best for them. However, because Vermont has been such a good place for my son to grow up in and has supported him through life, I know that he would gladly return here to work if he could find a job in Vermont that would allow him to meet his monthly loan payments. (And if he could get high speed internet access!)

If we are worried about losing our youth, then we must find ways to help them pay off their loans and make a livable wage in Vermont rather than penalizing them for opting to get the best education available to them, even when it means going out of state.

Perhaps for those students who attend schools that do deduct the VSAC money from their aid, the money could be put into an investment fund that would be made available to those new graduates who choose to return to Vermont to work.

Mary Anderson

Bethel